Archive for the Damages Category

Starbuck (BSG) Is The Top TV Character 2007-2008

Hey gang, as a bunch of our favorite TV Shows are only a week or two (or 5 months) away from returning after their WGA Strike imposed hiatus, a handful of TV Bloggers got together to share their favorite characters currently on television.

Below is a list of the Top 25 Characters of Television! Did your favorite make the cut? Share your Top 10 in the comments section below if you like!

1. Kara “Starbuck” Thrace (Battlestar Galactica)
2. Tami Taylor (Friday Night Lights)
3. Barney Stinson (How I Met Your Mother)
4. Benjamin Linus (Lost)
5. Dexter Morgan (Dexter)
6. Coach Eric Taylor (Friday Night Lights)
7. Landry Clarke (Friday Night Lights)
8. Dwight Schrute (The Office)
9. Lily Rush (Cold Case)
10. Omar Little (The Wire)

11. Gaius Baltar (Battlestar Galactica)
12. Olive Snook (Pushing Daisies)
13. Shawn Spencer (Psych)
14. Sheldon Cooper PhD (The Big Bang Theory)
15. Dr. Juliet Burke (Lost)
16. Michael Weston (Burn Notice)
17. Captain Jack Harkness (Torchwood)
18. Dr. Miranda Bailey (Grey’s Anatomy)
19. Chuck Bartowski (Chuck)
20. Brenda Leigh Johnson (The Closer)
21. Emerson Cod (Pushing Daisies)
22. Ned “The Piemaker” (Pushing Daisies)
23. Liz Lemon (30 Rock)
24. Stephanie Lane (My Boys)
25. Stewie Griffin (Family Guy)

Also receiving multiple votes: Desmond Hume (Lost), Major John Casey (Chuck), Jack Donaghy (30 Rock)
Voters: Dan, Ducky, Jo, Kate, Sandie, Scooter McGavin, TVFan, Vance

GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS Winners: TV

The 65th Annual GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS winners were announced tonight during a hideous hour long “news special” instead of the normal glitz and glam. Our hosts? The impossibly fake and totally douchey Billy Bush (seriously what was with his hair) and Nancy O’Dell. You couldn’t have picked two worse and unqualified talking heads to host this borefest. Their “banter” over the merits of winners or losers was insipid at best and NBC could have done themselves a favor by just doing a minute long rundown of the winners between episodes of American Gladiators.

Regardless, the once prestigious crystal ball to the Oscars and Emmy’s was squashed thanks to the WGA Strike so bully to them. Chalk one up for the little guys (in the industry’s eyes, not mine. The writers are gods to me)!

And if I have to hear about how sad it was that the nominees didn’t get their moment in the spotlight (as if their bloated paychecks aren’t enough gratification considering its not like they’re curing AIDS or stopping the war in Iraq) I’m going to rip my eyelids off. Hollywood’s back-patting is a little much even on their worst day so really we could do without the fanfare and idolatry for a bit if it means giving the writers their due. Just remember everyone, without the writer’s these “great” actors would have nothing to do. Believe me, left to their own devices many of these folks would be dribbling baffoons so give the writer’s their fair share!

*jumps off soapbox*

And The Winners Are…

Best Series, Drama
Big Love
Damages
Grey’s Anatomy
House
Mad Men
The Tudors

Best Actor, Drama Series
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Hugh Laurie, House
Jonathan Rhys Meyers, The Tudors
Bill Paxton, Big Love

Best Actress, Drama Series
Patricia Arquette, Medium
Glenn Close, Damages
Minnie Driver, The Riches
Edie Falco, The Sopranos
Sally Field, Brothers & Sisters
Holly Hunter, Saving Grace
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer

Best Series, Comedy or Musical
30 Rock
Californication
Entourage
Extras
Pushing Daisies

Best Actress, Comedy or Musical Series
Christina Applegate, Samantha Who?
America Ferrera, Ugly Betty
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Anna Friel, Pushing Daisies
Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds

Best Actor, Comedy or Musical Series
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Steve Carell, The Office
David Duchovny, Californication
Ricky Gervais, Extras
Lee Pace, Pushing Daisies

Best Supporting Actress, Series, Miniseries or TV Movie
Rose Byrne, Damages
Rachel Griffiths, Brothers & Sisters
Katherine Heigl, Grey’s Anatomy
Samantha Morton, Longford
Anna Paquin, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
Jaime Pressly, My Name Is Earl

Best Supporting Actor, Series, Miniseries or TV Movie
Ted Danson, Damages
Kevin Dillon, Entourage
Jeremy Piven, Entourage
Andy Serkis, Longford
William Shatner, Boston Legal
Donald Sutherland, Dirty Sexy Money

Best Miniseries or TV Movie
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
The Company
Five Days
Longford
The State Within

Best Actress, Miniseries or TV Movie
Bryce Dallas Howard, As You Like It
Debra Messing, The Starter Wife
Queen Latifah, Life Support
Sissy Spacek, Pictures of Hollis Woods
Ruth Wilson, Jane Eyre (Masterpiece Theatre)

Best Actor, Miniseries or TV Movie
Adam Beach, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
Ernest Borgnine, A Grandpa for Christmas
Jim Broadbent, Longford
Jason Isaacs, The State Within
James Nesbitt, Jekyll

Congratulations to MAD MEN, one of the summer’s most compelling and unique dramas, and JON HAMM for their well deserved wins. GLENN CLOSE, hells yes she rocked my socks with Damages. Summer is sweeping! EXTRAS? Kudos Ricky Gervais and crew. Same goes for TINA FEY she totally nails Liz Lemon week in and week out.

I’m not going to lie, I’m sad that Pushing Daisies didn’t win and the same tears are shed for my man Lee Pace. Next year.

Before I sign off, could Supporting Roles get screwed more? I hate that they are all limped together (comedies, dramas, tv movies, miniseries) because you cannot compare the work of someone in Boston Legal with some sweeping historical miniseries, it just doesn’t gel.

Everyone’s sick of end of year lists but how can I not do one on my favorite TV shows of 2007? I always find these lists hard to do because 12 months is a really long time and we watch a LOT of TV. I wish I could prepare enough ahead of time to write up some great “moments” that stand out but let’s be honest… I don’t get paid to do this so that’s not gonna happen.

Regardless, the end of the 2006-2007 season provided lots of thrills and even a few tears. The 2007-2008 season started off so promising but as we all know, many shows just didn’t live up to the hype and the WGA Strike has kind of killed any hope of making this a banner year for television. So what did I choose? Did I pick a previous favorite that ended last May? Did I give a sophmore series about superheroes another nod? Did those Housewives make a showing after being off the list for so many years? Here goes.

Ducky’s Favorite TV of 2007:

30 Rock - Will Arnett and Alec Baldwin Face Off
30 ROCK I was late jumping on the 30 Rock train but once I gave it a chance late last winter, I instantly fell in love. 30 Rock is the successor to Arrested Development and I actually may love it even more. Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin together are impossibly brilliant and the supporting cast only add to the mayhem and madness. Highlights: Season 1’s “I love NY in springtime” moment, Season 2’s return of Will Arnett, “Me Want Food” and “Gay for Jamie“.

Cast of CHUCK on NBC, Fall 2007
CHUCK Chuck Bartowski, how I love you! The funniest thing about Chuck is that GMMR and I had seen the pilot probably 10 times before we hit Comic-Con where Zac Levi and crew got a superheroes reception from the geek gala. I don’t know that the show has lived up to my expectations but I can’t say that I don’t love watching it every week. There’s an inherent sweetness to this action-comedy that makes me squee. Zachary Levi and Yvonne Strahovski are magnificent together and anytime Adam Baldwin gets to be a smartass, I’m on board. So sad that the WGA Strike put an end to our enjoyment of the Nerd Herd! Highlights: The Pilot, Chuck and Lou, Captain Awesome’s many skin shots, and the return of Bryce Larkin.

Damages FX
DAMAGES Week after week this intense drama built to a shockingly graphic climax and it kept me guessing every step of the way. Glenn Close, Rose Byrne and Ted Danson delivered crazy intense performances for 13 weeks, proving that summer is not for the lazy brainless reality shows any longer. It was great interviewing most of the cast this summer, it really made me realize how brilliant the writing of the show really is. Kudos to FX for sticking with Damages and granting us 2 more seasons. Highlights: The endless time shifting and the seemless togetheness of it all, Glenn Close’s reaction to Ray Fiske blowing his brains out, the closing moments on the dock.

Torchwood “Everything Changes” Capt. Jack
DOCTOR WHO/TORCHWOOD The one-two punch of Doctor Who and Torchwood coupled with my going to Comic-Con made 2007 my geekiest year to date. Season 3 of Doctor Who was probably the best of the new series. While I loved and miss Rose, Martha was a great companion. Capt. Jack may have ended up on Who at the end of Season 3 but more importantly he kicked some demon ass all season on his own show, Torchwood. Harkness, Gwen, Ianto, Owen, and Tosh made their show so much more than a spin-off. Torchwood delivered thrills, chills, and tears and I cannot wait for it’s return early in 2008. Highlights: Who’s Donna the Runaway Bride, “Human Nature” and the scary intense weeping angels of “Blink”. Torchwood’s gayness, “Random Shoes” with Eugene, Billis the scariest wrinkled creepy since the Preacher Kane from Poltergeist.

Friday Night Lights NBC
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS The Dillon Panthers won State, the audience won another season and all seemed great down there in Texas. Then poor Tyra and Landry had to dump a body in a river leading to the most interesting coupling the show could ever have concocted. Some balked at the stunt plotline but I welcomed it once I saw how unbelievable both Adrianne Palicki and Jessie Plemons would make their roles. The Taylors continued to bring one of the most realistic and beautiful families to television not to mention Connie Britton’s acting her ass off. Highlights: Winning State, Plemons acting, Santiago’s first moment in the game during “The Confession”… breathtaking.

Matthew Fox LOST
LOST Say what you will about Season 3 of LOST but the addition of Juliet and the jump forward solidified the show as greatness in my book. While it took a bit to flesh out Ben’s backstory, Juliet’s arrival on the island, Mr. Friendly’s allegiance, and the involvement of the Whidmore’s it was all worth the wait. We got some great answers this season, some scary twists and turns, some great revelations, some wonderful death’s, and HELLO, the chaos surrounding who’s coming to the island in Season 4? Matthew Fox continued to bring anxiety and sadness to the role of Jack and it’s a damn shame he wasn’t nominated for something this year. I’m psyched for it’s return on January 31st! Highlights: The story of how Juliet came to the island, the death of Charlie, the flash-forward, and Patch!

Mad Men (The Guys of Sterling Cooper)
MAD MEN Seriously, do I even need to explain why Mad Men is on the list? The acting, the writing, the art direction, the costuming, the genius? Another summer sleeper that rocked my socks! Highlights: Jon Hamm as Don Draper, any scene with Joan, the sadness of the era, Don Draper’s carousel pitch.

Pushing Daisies Cast
PUSHING DAISIES The facts are these: Lee Pace, Anna Friel, Kristin Chenoweth and Chi McBride are my favorite finds of 2007. Bryan Fuller created a vivid, magical world I didn’t realize was missing from making my life complete until it slapped me in the face. My favorite pilot of 2007 led to stalking Fuller and Co. at Comic-Con, creating a fansite called ThePieMaker.com, and landed me on the Red Carpet interviewing these great talents. What a summer and fall leading up to the premiere of Pushing Daisies. This show makes me beyond happy and I cannot wait for its return in 2008. Highlights: The pilot, Ellen Greene, the musical numbers, Ned & Chuck, Bryan Fuller and Lee Pace recognizing me on the red carpet with hugs all around. Swoon…

Neil and Sabra Boardroom Brawl
SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE I have to include SYTYCD because seriously could there have been a bigger obsession all summer long? Sure I loved Damages and Mad Men but sweet lord did it not compare to my lunacy over Neil Haskell and the rest of the dancers on SYTYCD. Highlights: Neil and Sabra’s boardroom brawl, Cat Deeley’s flawless hosting, Mary Murphy’s continued screaming, Wade Robson’s increased involvement, Debbi Allen and Shankman, backstage on tour.

“A Very Supernatural Christmas” (4)
SUPERNATURAL Love those Winchester’s. In a year that saw Sammy go real dark, the demise of YED, and a soul searching Dean, how can I not love Supernatural? The end of Season 2 was a wild wild ride but the beginning of Season 3 proved that this show is not and will not be stereotyped. Broadening the horizons of the demon world has suited the show nicely. Sure the addition of Ruby and Bela has been problematic for some but I can overlook that because the suspense and the gore has increased! Highlights: Visiting the set last May, blood and more blood, Supernatural:Origins comics, the return of Gordon.

The rest of the best: Battlestar Galactica, Big Bang Theory, Brothers & Sisters, Gossip Girl, How I Met Your Mother, Project Runway, Psych, The Closer, The Office, Top Chef and the end of Veronica Mars.

Should be on the list but isn’t for one reason or another: Dexter (never finished Season 2 because we got rid of Showtime but I’m dying to see the rest), Bones (just got addicted so I felt it couldn’t be added just yet - though let it be known that I’m obsessed), Dirty Sexy Money (something just isn’t right just yet, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love it).

Have a safe and Happy New Year! Looking forward to a wonderful and hopefully television filled 2008.

These guys might be on strike but that’s not stopping the WGA from nominating the best in their field this year! Here are the Writers Guild of America Awards Nominees.

DRAMATIC SERIES
DEXTER, FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, MAD MEN, THE SOPRANOS, THE WIRE

COMEDY SERIES
CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM, ENTOURAGE, FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS, THE OFFICE, 30 ROCK,

NEW SERIES
DAMAGES, FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS, MAD MEN, PUSHING DAISIES, THE SARAH SILVERMAN PROGRAM

EPISODIC DRAMA
Final Grades (The Wire), The Second Coming (The Sopranos), The Round File (The Closer), Flashes Before Your Eyes (Lost), The Hobo Code (Mad Men), The Dark Defender (Dexter)

EPISODIC COMEDY
Pie-Lette (Pushing Daisies), The Job (The Office), Negotiation (30 Rock), Local Ad (The Office), Phyllis’s Wedding (The Office), Sally Returns (Flight of the Conchords)

LONG FORM - ORIGINAL
Pandemic, The Lost Room

LONG FORM - ADAPTATION
The Company: A Story of the CIA, Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee, The Starter Wife

ANIMATION
The Haw-Hawed Couple (The Simpsons), The Homer of Seville (The Simpsons), Kill Gil Volumes 1&2 (The Simpsons), Stop or My Dog Will Shoot! (The Simpsons), The Passion of the Dauterive (King of the Hill), Lucky’s Wedding Suit (King of the Hill)

COMEDY/VARIETY
THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART, THE COLBERT REPORT, LATE NIGHT WITH CONAN O’BRIEN, PENN & TELLER: BULLSHIT!, REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER, SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE

The Golden Globe Nominations were announced this morning and there are some squee worthy nods and sadly some of my faves that are missing. *cough* Friday Night Lights *cough*

DRAMATIC TV SERIES
“Big Love”
“Damages”
“Grey’s Anatomy”
“House”
“Mad Men”
“The Tudors”

BEST ACTOR, TV DRAMA
Michael C. Hall, “Dexter”
John Hamm, “Mad Men”
Hugh Laurie, “House”
Jonathan Rhys Meyers, “The Tudors”
Bill Paxton, “Big Love”

BEST ACTRESS, TV DRAMA
Patricia Arquette, “Medium”
Glenn Close, “Damages”
Minnie Driver, “The Riches”
Edie Falco, “The Sopranos”
Sally Field, “Brothers & Sisters”
Holly Hunter, “Saving Grace”
Kyra Sedgwick, “The Closer”

TV SERIES, MUSICAL OR COMEDY
“Californication”
“Entourage”
“Extras”
“30 Rock”
“Pushing Daisies”

BEST ACTOR, TV MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Alec Baldwin, “30 Rock”
Steve Carell, “The Office”
David Duchovny, “Californication”
Ricky Gervais, “Extras”
Lee Pace, “Pushing Daisies”

BEST ACTRESS, TV MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Christina Applegate, “Samantha Who?”
America Ferrera, “Ugly Betty”
Tina Fey, “30 Rock”
Anna Friel, “Pushing Daisies”
Mary-Louise Parker, “Weeds”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Rose Byrne, “Damages”
Rachel Griffith, “Brothers & Sisters”
Katherine Heigl, “Grey’s Anatomy”
Samantha Morton, “Longford”
Anna Paquin, “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee ”
Jamie Pressly, “My Name is Earl”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Ted Danson, “Damages”
Kevin Dillon, “Entourage”
Jeremy Piven, “Entourage”
Andy Serkis, “Longford”
William Shatner, “Boston Legal”
Donald Sutherland, “Dirty Sexy Money”

BEST MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
“Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee”
“The Company”
“5 Days”
“The State Within”
“Longford”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MINI-SERIES OR A MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Bryce Dallas Howard, “As You Like It”
Debra Messing, “The Starter Wife”
Queen Latifah, “Life Support”
Sissy Spacek, “Pictures of Hollis Woods”
Ruth Wilson, “Jane Eyre”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MINI-SERIES OR A MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Adam Beach, “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee”
Ernest Borgnine, “A Grandpa For Christmas”
Jim Broadbent, “Longford”
James Isaacs, “The State Within”
James Nesbitt, “Jekyll”

I’m super psyched for a good chunk of nominations. Pushing Daisies, Lee Pace, and Anna Friel have to be my biggest joy this morning! You know I love me some PD and this really gives me hope that the show can be bigger and better post-strike. Kick ass for summer shows like Damages and Mad Men! They kept television in a higher class all summer long so they are much deserved of this honor. Kudos to John Hamm and Rose Byrne for being the summer newbies! Also huge props to 30 Rock, Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin because there is pretty much not a funnier duo on television at the moment.

Sadly Friday Night Lights is shut out, as is Battlestar. It’s hard to believe that The Office got shat upon as well. I thought for sure there was a nomination in there for Jenna Fischer. She killed it at the end of last season and the beginning of this short season. Lost’s Matthew Fox and Elizabeth Mitchell were robbed. What about Barney? Oh god, Neil Patrick Harris didn’t get a nom, kinda sucks.

The 65th Annual Golden Globes will be awarded on January 13th (NBC).

DAMAGES Renewed For 2 More Seasons

Wow, we’ve been waiting weeks to hear if FX was going to renew their amazing thriller DAMAGES and word just came out that they have… for 2 more seasons!

Per Ausiello:

FX has ordered not one more but two new seasons of the critically acclaimed Damages, for a total of 26 episodes. “To be able to tell 26 more hours of mind-blowing stories with Todd A. Kessler, Daniel Zelman and Glenn Kessler is an incredible position to be in,” says Jamie Erlicht, Co-President of Programming and Production, Sony Pictures Television. “FX has continually shown enormous support for both this show and for Sony, and it’s evident in this extended renewal.”

I’m psyched! As you know, DAMAGES was one of my favorite shows this summer and over the past television year. I cannot wait to see Ellen work Patty over and bury her. If you missed any of my INTERVIEWS WITH THE DAMAGES CAST head on over to the Interview page.

WGA Strike Signs

WGA Strike Day 8
Updates and Links

Updated: 10:15 p.m.

Wow, it’s officially been a week for the striking WGA members and so much has developed. Please look back through my earlier posts on the WGA Strike for information. We are entering Day 8 and there’s plenty to report.

  • The always informative strike guru Nikki Finke has the scoop on TV Bloggers Going Dark in support of the strike. Wait, I’m one of them. Come back after midnight to see what I mean. Oh look… Drudge Report as well. Defamer too. Huh.
  • A Writer’s Assistant Speaks Up.
  • Are CBS News Writers about to walk as well?
  • Could the strike make cablers like Mad Men and Damages a shoo-in come Emmy time?
  • SCRUBS Bill Lawrence refused to create a last minute Series Finale.
  • Jason Bateman is a master of the loophole.
  • Are Agents one step closer to bringing the WGA and AMPTP together for negotiations.
  • Digby wrote about the lack of media coverage of the strike. I’m assuming that’s not Digby from Pushing Daisies
  • LOST genius Damon Lindelof wrote a piece about the Death of Television for the New York Times.
  • Tomorrow is “Bring A Kid” and “Bring A Star” Day on the lines.
  • Alec Baldwin wrote a piece on what the strike is costing us.
  • It’s Monday, will The Tonight Show go on with Guest Hosts?
  • DAMAGES Season 1 Finale

    FX’s blink and you’ll miss something crazy important thrill ride DAMAGES concluded it’s first (and hopefully not last) season this past Tuesday and there are still a ton of questions left unanswered.

    Matt Mitovich, the genius that he sometimes can be sat down with creators Todd A. Kessler, Daniel Zelman and Glenn Kessler and these guys seriously dished about every question you could possibly think of regarding the finale, the timelines, and the hopeful second season.

    TVGuide.com: First up, Arthur Frobisher — is he dead?
    Todd A. Kessler: It all depends on whether he is able to make a phone call there in the field and save himself. But we were so thrilled with Ted Danson’s performance that if we’re fortunate enough to get a second season [pickup], we very much look forward to having the opportunity to bring him back, as the storyline affords us that ability.

    TVGuide.com: It offered closure to that storyline, but I’m afraid that too much dies with him if he is dead.
    Todd: Yes, like the plotline of Ellen attempting to prove who killed David….

    Glenn Kessler: I will say this — you’re involved in the Internet and a lot of conversations that have gone on on the Internet about the show and everything, so you know there was a period of time where people were saying, “There couldn’t be a second season, these women could never work together again.” “It will strain credibility.” “There’s no way out of this mess.” We’re storytellers, so there’s a solution to every proposition. And there are also, ideally, surprising solutions. Of course people are asking, “Did Frobisher die in the field?” I would say it’s just not as simple as that.

    Daniel Zelman: We have storylines in our head that include Frobisher dying in the field, and we have storylines that include him not dying in the field. We haven’t decided yet which of those storylines would satisfy us the most.

    TVGuide.com: Was David’s stalker, Lila, purely a red herring, or was she somehow tied in with Frobisher’s gang?
    Todd: No, she was not tied in with Frobisher’s gang at all. As far as we’re concerned, she played a pretty crucial role in that she had an impact on David and Ellen and their relationship. And plotwise, she had keys to their apartment, so when she came to see David sleeping in the second-to-last episode, she left the door open, which left the bearded man and the pockmarked man able to gain access without having to break in and potentially alert David.

    TVGuide.com: Would Season 2 have some sort of flash-forward/flashback element, or was that simply a device to get the series off the ground?
    Daniel: It’s a signature of the show that we play with time, and we don’t really want to give that up. At the same time, [Season 2] may not be as fully dependent on the time-jumping as the first season was. But it’s safe to say there will be some element of it. It may not be flashing forward; it may be flashing back to something….

    Glenn: The season finale for us was an attempt to accomplish a lot of things in terms of closure and in terms of launching a second season. The idea that the feds have shown up and have been investigating Patty — and it was stated that they’d been investigating even before the Frobisher case — [gives us] reasons to go into Patty’s past. As Daniel said, we have options in a lot of directions, but what was important to us was that we come up with an organic way to move through time again if we want to.

    TVGuide.com: Let’s talk about Patty’s past. Is there anything the less-astute viewer might not have surmised from the reveal about the unborn child she lost? Is there a deeper meaning along the lines of “Ellen is the daughter she didn’t have”…? Or was it more about something you have planned for Season 2?
    Todd: One thing is that as of this phone conversation, we don’t have a second season. But we worked over these characters and storylines dozens and dozens of times in terms of how we would love to proceed, because to us these people are living and breathing. In terms of what happened with Patty, it was very much a domino effect for that character. She experiences significant trauma with Ray Fiske killing himself in front of her, and what happens in those kinds of circumstances is it shakes people truly to their core, and different things emerge. Paranoia, extreme emotional response….

    TVGuide.com: She may have merely been revisiting other losses from her life.
    Todd: Yes, and also she needed to be able to have an emotional breakdown. Going back to that child she lost, a seminal moment in her life, was a way for her to access that. What we hope, and you’ve kind of tapped into it, is that for Patty, Ellen represents more than just another associate. She sees herself in Ellen as a younger female who has proven her mettle over time. There’s a lot to tap into in their relationship.

    Daniel: Really, that story movement is about Patty’s character and psychology. It’s not about plot in any way.

    TVGuide.com: OK, so it’s not like the baby was Frobisher’s, as some have speculated.
    Daniel: No, it’s just a real event in Patty’s past that deeply informs who she is.

    Todd: One of the challenges of serialized storytelling is that it’s fun to have the audience guessing or speculating — “Maybe Patty was sister to the girl in Arlington?” The notion of this series, as introduced in the pilot, is one that we don’t try to force-feed [information]. We hope it’s not frustrating when you aren’t accurate or when you are accurate and you’re like, “I knew all along that was going to happen.”

    Glenn: It’s been thrilling and gratifying that people have taken Patty’s words to heart to not trust anyone, and they have been looking for links and motives for everybody. People have given themselves over to the show in such a way that they’re adamantly trying to scour everything put in front of them and make sense of it all.

    I told you it was pretty awesome right? This is only about 1/3 of the interview so head on over to TVGuide for the rest. Fingers crossed FX renews DAMAGES very very shortly.

    DAMAGES Season 1 Finale

    FX’s incredibly intricate and deliciously diabolical first season of DAMAGES just finished and I’m still trying to piece it all together and catch my breath from all the twisty-turny awesomeness.

    Quickly I think this is how it goes in one big long paragraph so get ready…

    Patty hired Ellen to get to Katie who’s David’s sister and soon to be sister-in-law of Ellen in order to bring down Arthur Frobisher for screwing his employees out of their retirement funds somewhere in the ballpark of $500,000,000. Katie took money from Frobisher to open a restaurant but it was all because she was with Gregory Malina on that fateful night in Florida. Patty had Katie’s dog killed, blackmailed Frobisher’s lawyer Ray Fiske which led to his blowing his brains out in her office because she threatened to go public with the fact that he gave stock to and told to sell it to Gregory whom he was secretly in love with. George Moore worked for the SEC and leaked to Frobisher that they were investigating him which led to the selling of the stock which led to the lawsuit which was the catalyst for the show. Moore was working with Ellen to set up Frobisher until he was murdered by Frobisher’s hairy faced silent man who also killed Gregory after making a tape of all his secrets and leaving it with Katie who gave it to David the night he was murdered by the same hairy faced silent man and some jamoke. We all thought hairy faced silent man and some jamoke were also behind trying to kill Ellen in Patty’s apartment while Patty was at her beach house resting after witnessing Ray killing himself but in the end it wasn’t hairy faced Frobisher guy and some jamoke, it was Uncle Pete letting some other jamoke into the apartment to kill Ellen on Patty’s orders. Did I mention that hairy faced silent guy went back to Ellen’s apartment to get the flashlight left behind by the jamoke and turns out that not only is he Frobisher’s guy, he’s a police officer. What?!! Patty got Frobisher for 2 billion dollars, promised to seal all evidence against him but gave the confession tape of Gregory Malina to the DA whom she instructed to use come re-election time and hopefully sending Frobisher away for good. Probably don’t need to worry about that though because Frobisher was shot by Lawrence the ex-employee/mole who the rest of the employees cut out of the fortunes after discovering he was the leak in the case. Hollis Nye, the guy that warned Ellen in the premiere to not go work for Patty Hewes seemed all sorts of shady and pulled Ellen into a black car to find Mario Van Peebles and some other guy who are FBI agents trying to convince Ellen to help them investigate and nail Patty for Fraud, obstruction of justice and a couple other nasty little charges. Patty summons Ellen to the beach house where she tells her that yes, in fact she is regretful of what they did about Ray and that she wants her back at work. Ellen agrees and then we realize that she agreed because she now works as an informant for the FBI and was just given access to all of Hewes Associates resources to “prove Frobisher killed David” and obviously to screw Patty for trying to kill her in the process.

    Phew… I think that about covers the mystery. Maybe?

    I need to watch the whole season again because honestly, the timeline for this show is one of the most complex and impressive works of writing I’ve ever seen. The storylines were so deep and embeded within each other that I know I’ve missed a ton of things. The whole Florida business is still a little vague for me. I lost track of what happened there and why it was important anymore because of the twists and turns. Like I said, another viewing is in order!

    So fingers crossed it gets picked up for a second season because there are a whole slew of things out there just floating about unanswered.

    Obviously there’s the whole Patty/Ellen face off. Patty had a kid named Julia 35 years ago that was born DOA. Patty’s son came back to the apartment the night Ellen was attacked for a reason but it was never answered. Who is his Father? We know that Michael Nouri is his step-father but do we know that story at all? What else has Patty done in the past that led the FBI to her way before the Frobisher case? Why is hairy faced silent man a cop and what the frak is that all about? And lastly, what happened to Lyla and crazy ass?

    I need a break after all this. Damages was amazing and I hope you all get the chance to marvel in its glory at some point.

    Don’t forget to read all the interviews I did with the cast of DAMAGES.

    Seriously, I fell asleep for the 3rd week in a row during HEROES. Is that a really bad sign? That means I also missed CHUCK. Some of you may think my priorities are out of whack considering I spent most of my night catching up on the last couple episodes of FX’s incredibly intricate DAMAGES and The Hills but I say that’s what I was feeling at the moment.

    I did however watch HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER and BIG BANG THEORY and both made me laugh my ass off.

    I also have an insane day at work so I don’t know that I’ll be able to update much. I’ll try my best to post about HIMYM and some news stories. What did you all watch?

    PETER FACINELLI has been working in film and television for quite some time now. If you’ve loved CAN’T HARDLY WAIT as much as I have, then you’ve grown to love and hate the roles he plays. On FX’s DAMAGES, he plays Greg Malina and once again it’s a character you want to slap one minute and bed the next. He walks a fine line between right and wrong, good and evil so honestly… he fits right in with the rest of the shady characters on this superb drama.

    We got the chance to chat with Peter last week and while he couldn’t really spill any information for us as the season hits its back half but he was veery easy to talk to and as you’ll see there might even be a Jenni Garth cameo in there somewhere.

    Peter Facinelli as Greg on DAMAGES

    Question: How long of a run are you going to have on Damages? I know you’ve done five or six episodes, I believe. How long do you believe your character will be taking part in this season?

    P. Facinelli: You know, I don’t know. Gregory is kind of torn between two sides right now and every time I flip the page, I wonder if I’m going to be in the next episode myself. So it’s all up in the air right now, but because my character pertains to this one particular case, I believe when the season is over, then my part would be over.

    Question: It looks like Gregory is going to be deeper and more involved in the conspiracy than we maybe originally thought. Can you give us any insight into where it’s going with the rest of the episodes this season or what you have filmed so far?

    P. Facinelli: Well, I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you. Like I said, he was in Florida. He knows what’s going on and he is being torn between two sides. And that’s pretty much all I can tell you. I can’t tell you any future episodes because I don’t want to ruin it for you. But he is, after Katie has been knocked out, pretty much the missing link in the whole case.
    (more…)

    I just got off a call with actor PETER FACINELLI who plays the shady Greg on FX’s supreme show DAMAGES and I’m not 100% sure, but I think there may have been a background appearance from Kelly Taylor herself, Peter’s wife JENNI GARTH.

    Peter Facinelli as Greg on DAMAGES

    In the middle of an answer, his dogs started barking like crazy so he excused himself and there was this background chatter where I could hear Peter, the dogs, maybe some kids, and a woman’s voice. I think I was on the phone in some ways with Dancing With The Stars’ next possible winner Garth. Loves her.

    Do you think that she’s friends with Mary Cherry (Leslie Grossman - her BFF on What I Like About You) in real life? “Shut your dirty whore mouth, player player!” Gosh I hope so.

    Stay tuned later in the week for the entire interview with Facinelli. I know what you’re thinking… Can’t Hardly Wait!